Watching the cold open on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, I was really impressed with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris. Though she has done the impression several times before, this was by far her best work in the role, with not just the voice and cadence, but perfect re-creations of Kamala’s head nods and eyerolls, too.
The other returning cast members in the sketch were hit and miss.
Dana Carvey remains a master impersonator, but I don’t know how much use “SNL” can get out of him as Biden. The “Joe is Old” schtick is already stale and there’s not much more for Carvey to do than shuffle in, stutter, and act clueless. It reminds me of Chevy Chase’s one-note portrayal of a bumbling Gerald Ford who fell down a lot. While that did hurt the incumbent’s image, he was running for re-election, while Biden is not.
Similarly, I don’t know how much use “SNL” can get out of Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff. The key to any effective impersonation is finding something about the subject to exploit, and I’m not sure the Second Gentleman has one. If he does, neither Samberg nor anyone else has found it.
On the other hand, I was glad the show kept James Austin Johnson as Trump rather than bring in another celebrity to play him. Johnson is simply miles above everyone else who has portrayed him on “SNL,” including Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond, Jason Sudeikis, and Taran Killam — all from the years when before Trump became a Def-Con 1 threat to our country. Johnson’s direct predecessor in the role, Alec Baldwin, was okay, but the longer he played Trump, the less he sounded like him.
Jim Gaffigan — the only one in the sketch who’s never been an “SNL” cast member — was an inspired choice to play Tim Walz. In addition to his well-honed comic timing, he has Walz’s look, enthusiasm, and attitude down. Gaffigan and Bowen Yang as JD Vance should have a lot of fun with their VP debate sketch next week.
Unfortunately, the rest of this “SNL” episode was devoid of anything funny, despite the best efforts of host Jean Smart. Even as a comedy veteran who’s been in the business as long as “SNL” has been on the air, she couldn’t save the way-below-average writing.
I continue to be amazed at the lame material Michael Che and Colin Jost come up with for “Weekend Update.” Che seems more interested in the response of the fans sitting a few feet in front of him than those watching at home. Every time they don’t laugh at his jokes, he looks at them as if it’s their fault. Meanwhile, Jost breaks up at the drop of a hat, even though nothing that happens at the desk should surprise him since he oversees the writing and saw it performed in the dress rehearsal earlier in the evening.
Still, I look forward to seeing Maya as Kamala every week through the election — and hopefully through her presidency, too!